this morning on "world news now" -- backing up trump. >> sarah palin going after the republican establishment, who she says is attacking their own front-runner. her major endorsement of donald trump coming at a crucial time in the primary race. and how ted cruz is responding. and for the democrats bernie sanders searches in the polls, taking a huge lead over hillary clinton. in the primary battleground of new hampshire. why clinton's camp isn't worried about that big number slide. the biggest phone scam in irs history. victims receiving phone calls from scammers posing as agents with threats related to their taxes. what the government is doing to stop it, and what you need to know about it. and say cheese. this morning we're celebrating america's favorite comfort food ingredient, cheese. we'll follow kendis into one of new york's best spots to make

mozzarella. >> mozzarella! >> okay. on this wednesday, january 20th. say cheese lovers day. >> why are you talking like that? >> announcer: from abc news this is "world news now." we're really excited about the cheese thing. good morning, everyone. i'm reena ninan. >> good morning. i'm kendis gibson. we would smother ourselves with cheese in f. it was socially acceptable. in some places it probably is. >> speak for yourself. i just saw you pull out the cheese from your backpack that we're supposed to eat later. i'm a little bit concerned about this. >> should be. are you supposed to refrigerate it? >> yes, you are supposed to refrigerate it, especially fresh mozzarella. >> because i've had it in the bag since yesterday. >> oh, boy. >> see what sort of impact it has. >> speaking of impact. >> yes. let's talk about this. a lot of people are saying this might be a game changer. talking about politics. in the heated republican race in iowa donald trump getting that key endorsement from sarah palin less than two weeks before the caucuses. >> making her announcement last

night in iowa, palin chastised the republican establishment for "attacking their own front-runner." and she'll be joining trump today on the campaign trail. here's abc's lana zac. >> reporter: the tea party favorite sarah palin has weighed in with her endorsement for the gop nomination. >> are you ready to make america great again? >> reporter: giving it to donald trump. >> are you ready to stump for trump? are you ready for a commander in chief who will let our warriors do their job and go kick isis's [ bleep ]? >> i'm an politician. can i get a hallelujah? doggone right we're angry. justifiably so. >> reporter: the two former reality tv stars have long admired each other. in 2011 palin shared a pizza with trump as she pondered running for the presidency. >> how about a trump-palin ticket? >> that sounds exciting. >> reporter: palin's endorsement could be critical as ted cruz and trump run neck and neck in the polls in iowa. the two men locked in a battle

of backhanded compliments. >> listen, i like donald. >> reporter: the insults simmering just below the surface. >> last couple of days he's been getting rattled, he's been throwing some insults my way. i don't intend to respond in kind. >> ted is worried about his temperament. and people are talking about his temperament. i haven't talked about his temperament. but he's got to be careful because his temperament has been questioned a lot. >> reporter: lana zak, abc news, washington. >> palin's announcement comes one day after her oldest son was arrested in alaska. police picked up track palin on monday night after his girlfriend said he punched her in the face and kicked her in the knees. she also said that she was afraid that he would shoot himself with a rifle. track palin is charged with assault and possession of a weapon while intoxicated. as for the democratic candidates, they're also making some news this morning. with the latest poll numbers from new hampshire. they indicate that bernie sanders is crushing hillary clinton by 27 points. that's his biggest lead so far in that state. and with hillary clinton also

losing ground in iowa, she issued an admission saying "there's a real possibility we could lose those contests." she adds that she's prepared for a long race, pointing out that in 2008 she campaigned until june. well, the governor of michigan is apologizing for the water crisis in flint. rick snyder devoted much of his state of the state address to the disaster. he blamed government failure for the lead contamination, which left water in flint undrinkable. the warter supply was switched in 2014 to save money. snyder resolved to fix the problem. >> i'm sorry most of all that i let you down. you deserve better. you deserve accountability. you deserve to know that the buck stops here with me. >> the governor h brushed aside growing calls for his resignation. protesters gathered at the state capital in lansing to demand that he step down. and some sad news for the families of those marines who have been missing off the coast of hawaii. the coast guard called off the search for the survivors.

the decision comes after an intense five-day effort to find the 12 marines who disappeared last week. they were on board two helicopters that collided during a nighttime training mission off oahu. they range in age from 21 to 41 and came from nine different states. well, two of the americans released by iran are now speaking publicly. one says that he and others are still in a state of disbelief that they're finally free. with more here's abc's brian ross. >> reporter: finally, something to laugh about for "washington post" reporter jason rezaian. in the first video of him as a free man released he is shown chuckling with his wife over a joke that poked fun at his iranian captors, proclaiming he was a spy. it was also a great day for another of the freed americans. 32-year-old amir hekmati. eager to tell the world iran did not break him. >> i feel alive for the first time. it's like being born again. and i just really feel proud to be an american.

>> reporter: hekmati said he and the three other released americans so mistrusted the iranians that they did not relax until their swiss air force plane cleared iranian air space after a delay of some 12 hours. >> so the champagne bottles were popped. >> reporter: hekmati was held for more than four years at iran's notorious evan prison where his family says he was tortured. >> my name is amir hekmati. >> reporter: and forced to make this false confession video, after which he was sentenced to death for being a cia spy. a former marine, hekmati said it was his regard for his fellow marines that kept him going, especially after some of them organized an online hunger strike to support him. >> i didn't want to let my fellow marines down. so i tried my best to, you know, keep my head up and withstand all the pressures that were put upon me, some of which were very inhumane and unjust. semper fi to all the marines out there. >> semper fi. and now there's a new

development in the fate of the american left behind in iran. former fbi agent robert levinson, who was not part of the swap deal with iran. the white house now says it believes that levinson may not be in iran and they thought that all along. the levinson family says it was surprised to hear that news. brian ross, abc news, new york. turning our focus to the home front, two pregnant women in illinois have been found to be infected with the zika virus. health officials say the expectant mothers had recently visited countries where the virus is located. the cdc recently issued a warning about the virus, which can cause severe birth defects in children. it is spread through mosquito bites and found in certain caribbean and latin american countries. well, if you run into problems with your new healt care insurance plan, you're not alone. thousands of customers around the country don't yet have their i.d. cards or they have billing errors. many people shot for new plans for 2016. others were forced to sign up elsewhere after their insurance companies ended coverage.

every january brings some problems. but experts say this year it is much worse. and speaking of every january, it also brings a new list of the most popular and worst passwords. it's actually amazing how some people just don't get it. tops on the list, 123456. the second -- that's not a typo. it is "password." >> and for those sites that require eight characters, number 3 is 12345678. the fourth are the letters under your left hand. i never thought of this. qwerty. >> erty, yeah. >> and you might as well just post your personal data on a hacker's website. they're saying don't do it, folks. >> i used the password one. but i'll use numbers at least. so passored and then 12345. >> they say changing it up, like an asterisk or dollar sign or whatever else. >> it makes is to difficult. >> then you forget it. >> exactly i've tried the space

bar thing. >> i didn't know you could do the zblsh yeah. you can do the space bar thing. >> coming up later in "the mix," making art with frozen pants. but first a mom fights off three would-be carjackers tossing them out of her vehicle at a gas station. the whole ordeal caught on camera. and later we'll go deep inside the insomniac kitchen. along for my mozzarella mission to make the tastiest cheese i could possibly do on this national cheese lovers day. remember to find us on facebook, wnnfans.com and twitter @abcwnn. you're watching "world news now."

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frightening moments for a very brave mom in florida. watch as two would-be carjackers run toward an suv at a gas station. the first driver locks her door. then tries to steal that red car but the driver yanks them out. her two kids are in the back seat. the two men and a woman were arrested a short time later. police found three guns in their possession. this could have ended so much worse. but a mama's instinct kicking in. they obviously say never to do this. but if your kids are in the back seat. and she didn't even know they had guns at the time probably. so wow. incredible. >> incredible video there. meantime, there are aggressive attempts to hijack your cash, and it's happening to americans across the country. right inside their own homes. >> it's a scam with crooks calling people on the phone demanding they pay back taxes, threatening them even if they

don't pay up immediately. abc's mary bruce has the latest. >> reporter: listen to this call. >> before there is an arrest warrant issued i want you or your attorney to give us a call back. >> reporter: from someone claiming to be an irs agent telling you to pay up or else. >> within the next hour they will be at your doorstep to handcuff and you put you behind the bars. >> reporter: the government launching a new campaign warning you to be high alert for scammers as tax season begins. melissa degan says she was conned over more than $15,000. >> i was just like what can i do to fix this? there's no way i can be arrested. >> reporter: 5,000 victims losing more than $26 million. the number of these calls tripling in the last year to nearly 1 million. even the treasury department's top investigator received a call. >> at the end i had the joy of telling them their day is coming. you called the wrong guy. >> reporter: how do you know the call is fake? >> it's not the irs if -- >> if somebody tells you if you don't pay money immediately that you're going to be arrested. >> reporter: the real irs never

threatens, and if they need to reach you they always send a letter first. and these scammers are changing their game as people become more aware. but what hasn't changed, these threatening calls. if you receive one, report it. but first, just hang up. mary bruce, abc news, washington. >> it's amazing how they get some of your personal information to make you believe this is really legit. >> i've gotten a lot of these mails actually since i've been here at abc going to my home in d.c. >> wow. >> i'll look and think it's official and call the irs and realize okay, no. so it's -- you definitely have to be on the lookout. >> it's kind of scary. coming up in our next half hour, the growing backlash against the ochkz. jada pinkett smith and spike lee are boycotting this year's academy awards over the lack of diversity among the nominees. well, now actor george clooney is weighing in. but first, making your own cheese. it's national cheese lovers day. and kendis got a lesson in making his own fresh mozzarella. our insomniac kitchen straight ahead.

♪ cheese, glorious cheese ♪ tastes mighty inviting ♪ cheese, glorious cheese ♪ it's too tantalizing >> whether you like it saucy -- >> going old school today. >> remember that? >> it's from the national dairy board. it turns 29 today. and really, what is there not to like about cheese? sweet, creamy, saltiness. protein. >> absolutely. well, today is national cheese lovers day. and we will celebrate. and in honor of this sacred food holiday i decided to try my hand at making my own fresh mozzarella. but i did have a little bit of help. who am i kidding? a lot of help. inside our insomniac kitchen. >> reporter: if there is

anywhere to celebrate international cheese lovers day, it is here, murray's. they've been in the business since the 1940s. but today they face their biggest challenge. teaching me how to make mozzarella. all right. here to help us celebrate is dan, who's the education maestro here at murray's. what are we going to do? >> these are pasta falata cheeses meaning pulled curd. we're going tyke some unaged mozzarella curd, heat it up, stretch it, roll it into a ball and turn it into the delicious fresh mozzarella we all know and love. let's take a look at the curd, this cube on your plate here. pick it up, take a look. go ahead and give it a taste, break off a little piece. >> it doesn't taste like anything. >> it's kind of boring. you know what's missing in. >> salt. >> salt. absolutely. this is water straight out of the tap as hot as that tap can go. we want to bring the curd up to room temperature so when we add the really hot water it doesn't have to work so hard to heat up.

>> it just feels like we're playing with our food. are we making mozzarella soup? >> i would never want you to do what you're doing right now. >> my second batch. >> second batch here. just take your container and dump your water out. leave the in the bowl. now we're goi to break up the mozzarella curd so increase the surface area again so when you add the really hot water it doesn't have to work too hard to melt. break them up. >> all of this is going to come back together? >> absolutely. >> what's the weirdest like form that somebody has made? >> i have a feeling you're going to make the weirdest form we've ever seen. i'm going to add some salt. one, two -- >> that seems like a lot. is that a pinch? >> yeah, looks pretty good. that's a big old pinch. toss the salt in there to coat. this water's sitting at 170 degrees. it's hot. >> okay. >> so what we do is work the curd toward the center of the bowl. >> doif to use my fingers? >> there's pretty much no other

way to get handmade mozzarella without using your hands. >> we're going to add more hot water? >> eyre going to add more. it's getting good and melty. fold it over a couple of times so it gets this nice and smooth texture there. we're going to put it back in the water. get it right in the middle and take a big old pinch out of the center. let it stretch. you can gently guide it with your other hand. we're making a ribbon. soon as the ribbon's long enough just let it fall back into the bowl. go ahead and rip off what you've got, rip off the rest and work with the ribbon we've got so far. you're going to roll it up. now we're going to make an okay sign with our right hand. keep your thumb and forefinger together. push the curd through your hand. tuck more of your mozzarella curd. what we're going to do is take your other hand and sit right on top and rip what's in your hand out. tuck it in under the bottom of

the bowl. cool water's going to help solid up that shape there. and that's it. ♪ hallelujah >> all righty. let's do this. >> doesn't get any fresher than this. >> yeah, it's actually really good. proves that i can make something. not very well but something. >> happy cheese day. >> yeah, you too. >> so voila. this is mine. this is the finished product that i made. >> i thought we had -- wow. >> no, no. >> that's your actual ball. >> this is my actual mozzarella ball. here, you've got it. >> wow. >> want to dig in? >> thanks for displaying that for us. >> it was tougher -- don't mind me while i cut the cheese. it's really not that tough of a process to make mozzarella. it's really just salt and fat at the end of the day. >> yeah. >> and we have some now.

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♪ i've got to say that cheese was really good. >> it was really good. it was a quick bathroom break there. but now time for -- time for "the mix." and we're talking about things that are -- it is so cold right now in minnesota. it's so cold in minnesota. how cold is it? >> how cold is it? >> thank you. it's so cold in minnesota that these pants are just frozen in their tracks. >> how did they get them up like that in. >> actually, there's a guy who -- he thought it would be funny. >> yeah. >> he got -- soaked them in water. molded them. and put them outside different parts of his town to put a prank on his neighbors. ? that >> that's pretty funny.

>> yeah. it's kind of cool. he did them in all parts of town. and he did it in 30 minutes. that answers a question of how cold it is in minnesota. >> very interesting. i like this. very, very interesting. now, apparently there's a guy in england who was very upset with the noise that popcorn makes in movie theaters. he wants to ban -- he's got a petition out to ban people from eating popcorn and -- [ popcorn crunching ] that's a prop? i didn't know that. oh, my god, i just ate styrofoam. what happened to the popcorn i bought for the segment? >> it's back there with marcus. >> oh, my god. this didn't go as planned, folks. oh, my god. i just ate styrofoam. can you explain the story? >> this stuff is three days -- three years old. okay. so there's a guy. he hates the noise of popcorn. >> i think i just had some like

cancerous -- >> yeah, you did. >> -- paint. >> he's doing this whole petition to get people to stop making noises in movie theaters when they -- when they eat their popcorn. i didn't know that you were going to dig into it. >> well, it looked good. i enjoy popcorn. i was trying to make the point it doesn't make a lot of noise. oh, my gosh. i just ate styrofoam. on national television. >> good deal. all right. so you all know we healthy the noise of popcorn. look at this kid. trying to get a kid's tooth out is a tough thing. this is in seattle. some fans here. they used a football that is connected to his teeth. and this solved that problem. take a look. nice. >> where'd it go? >> yeah, it did work.

this morning on "world news now" -- state of emergency. the michigan governor apologizing last night for the mishandling of the water crisis in flint. this as president obama meets with the city's mayor to see what can be done to help the children exposed to lead. sarah palin coming out last night with guns blazing. plenty of targets for the tea party favorite. and nobody off limits as she endorses donald trump for the presidency. her colorful comments just ahead. and new this half hour, the hollywood star's heroic actions. >> jamie foxx pulling a victim of a car crash from the burning wreckage. and now speaking out about the incident happening right in front of his home. and another hollywood star called out for being tone deaf. zac efron's racially insensitive post on martin luther king day. what he said that led to a